Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
We're Back!
Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Joan Caulfield aka Matilda Frazier in "The Unsuspected" aka Mary O'Hara in "Blue Skies" aka Dorinda Hatch in "The Lady Says No" aka Nora Johnson in "Buckskin" aka Dakota Lil McCoy in "Red Tomahawk" aka Sharleen Travers in "Cattle King" (Died in 1991 at age 69)
Lea Thompson aka Lorraine Baines/McFly in "Back to the Future I, II & III" aka Erica Mason in "Red Dawn" aka Stacey in "Casual Sex?" aka Beverly in "Howard the Duck" aka Kathryn Fairly in "SpaceCamp" aka Alice Mitchell in "Dennis the Menace" (age 51)
A clear attempt to vector resources away from highly effective, kinetic effects producing (enemy killing) Unmanned Aerial Survellience (UAS) systems and toward academia and the study of anthropology, sociology and bullshit human-terrain mapping. We already know who these people are, what they eat, and what they do for a living. It has not changed in thousands of years. Ask the soldier what he wants and he'll tell you a MQ-9 Reaper and an A-10 Warthog, or both!
#1
Gee B, actually asking the grunt at the end of the bayonet what he/she needs? What a concept.
If someone had the time to google to verify, iirc, the 'society' that constitutes the academia of anthropology called for the ouster of any member who dared assist the military in their operations in hinterlands of civilization. Yes, it is indeed a sign when the very bodies that puked over the military and the war now are seeking succor from the perceived cash cow. Ironic in that Defense will most likely take the most public and substantive hit on budget reductions as other sacred cows are protected no matter how unproductive they may be because it shows that 'we care'.
#4
We already know who these people are, what they eat, and what they do for a living. It has not changed in thousands of years
You're talking "Afghanistan" now, they're talking about 35-30 other nations in the future.
The problem is that developing these other areas of 'expertise' on various other nations will take take decades. It'll be easier in areas where the US has long had experience (e.g. Philippines), but other nations will take a long, long time. Career paths don't allow for military personnel to do what the 'advisers' want. There is no 'attache' or 'adviser' that stays in one area long enough to become a resident expert, like the Brits used to do with theirs. And as P2K mentioned, academia doesn't want anything to do with the icky military stuff; just bring back the scads of funding from the good old days of the Cold War.
Besides the technological aspect keeps the politicians, their media camp-followers, and their campaign contributors happy. It's quick, it's 'techie', and it doesn't involve direct human contact. And like the academics, it brings in lots and lots of funding.
#5
Neh, police actions/nation building/sensitivity to "war crimes" are aberrations of an affluent society---which is, effectively, over. Give it a decade or so, and any bunch of Third Worlders to annoy an industrialized Nation will regret it deeply---but not for long.
#6
#5 True, and compounded by Obama's burning desire to cut US conventional forces so he can spend the money on wealth transfers. There's going to be a day when the only option some future US president has is to call for The Football.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/01/2011 15:13 Comments ||
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#7
Yah, you check out the mountain on the left, and i'll take the mountain on the right.
#1
Around the middle of the 19th Century, the Army was relieved of its mission to care and watch over the Native population. It had a spotty record of performance and was an ugly step child in the mind of the War Department. That function was moved to the newly minted Bureau of Indian Affairs which became a pit of patronage and corruption. It's not like we've learned the consequences of 'contracting' out support functions and made provisions to insure stuff like that doesn't happen again. Then again 'history' is only stuff people remember from when they were born.
#2
Then again 'history' is only stuff people remember from when they were born. Most people don't know the names of their grandparents. A great many people don't care whether their grandparents were even human.
This arrangement is no different than what was done in WWII when we had to build airbases and port facilities in "the colonies" (third world). Nobody talks about the conditions in the coolie work gangs or even the Italian day laborers in Italy. One of my friends was in charge of several thousand Phillipene workers in Mainila during the Vietnam War. Conditions today are better for these laborers than they were in any war in US history.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/01/2011 11:38 Comments ||
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#5
The Third World contractors are getting paid a very high comparative salary in a hard currency and they love it. As for the contractor deaths, clearly the writer has never studied history, where she would learn that the camp followers for every army were always hard hit by disease, hungry, and exposure. When the Left complains about the loss of 'contractors', what they are really bemoaning is the low casualty rate among the US military in the wars we are currently fighting.
[Tolo News] At least one civilian was killed and six others were hurt in a blast in Kabul city on Tuesday night, local officials said.
The kaboom has taken place in Bagh-e-Chel Sutoon area at around 08:00 pm Kabul time, which Kabul police thinks was a grenade attack.
One civilian has been killed and six others have been hurt, Gen. Mohammad Zaher, Chief of Criminal Investigation for Kabul Police told TOLOnews. The maimed were rushed to the hospital.
Mr Zaher said the Afghan police started investigation about the incident.
However, The mauve However... no group including the Taliban has grabbed credit for the attack.
They're still trying to get through to the team, who aren't answering their cell phones.
Violence has recently increased in Afghanistan and beturbanned goons have attacked government buildings in some parts of the country.
Taliban have started their 'spring offensives'
A good thing, too. Summer starts in only twenty days, you know.
in which they have vowed to target government buildings and Afghan and foreign forces in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] One Afghan police soldier was killed in an kaboom in the town of Pul-e-Khumri in northern Baghlan province on Tuesday, officials said.
"A bomb planted in a police vehicle went off in Sar-e-Chawk area killing one police soldier," Governor of Balghlan, Munshi Abdul Majid, told TOLOnews.
Earlier reports said it was a suicide kaboom on a police car killing two police soldiers and wounding 3 others.
Some unconfirmed reports said a jacket wallah who was on foot targeted the police vehicle in Sar-e-Chowk area in Pul-e-Khumri.
At least one civilian was reportedly maimed in the kaboom.
The maimed have been taken to a nearby hospital.
The attack has yet to be claimed.
Taliban Orcs and similar vermin have stepped up their attacks in different parts of Afghanistan as the country is approaching the first phase of security transition scheduled to begin in July this year.
Afghan forces are to take security responsibilities of seven provinces and districts in July.
However, The wishy-washy However... there are widespread concerns that Afghan forces may not yet be able to shoulder the burden.
Baghlan province has been one of the relatively peaceful provinces in the north after clean-up operations launched by Afghan and foreign troops in the insecure districts.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] A number of high-profile Afghan officials and well-known political figures are among the targets set by the Taliban, Afghan House of Representatives warned on Monday.
Open warfare was a bust, suicide bombing is causing the locals to turn against them, so they're going for the Hashashin alternative. Can it be done by untrained, pasty-face madrassah boys bent from years spent over their books, or will Lashkar-i-Taiba, et al sacrifice their best for the ISI's cause? Because an assassination campaign only inspires fear when it works...
The house declined to disclose names of officials and figures making the next target of the Taliban attacks.
But Mohammad Yonus Qanooni, a member of parliament and former house speaker, said First Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, Dr Abdullah Leader of Change and Hope Coalition, Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor and himself are included in the list of the Taliban murder plan in the months ahead.
Speaking at the funeral ceremony of the dead in Takhar incident, Mr Qanoni said name late Gen. Dawood Dawood was also in the list.
Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim attending the funeral ceremony warned snuffies to join the government grinding of the peace processor or you will risk your lives.
"Names of our respectful brother Marshal Fahim, Atta Mohammad Noor the successful governor of Balkh, my own name and Dr Abdullah are in the list that must be assassinated," Mr Qanooni said.
Parliamentarians say Afghan officials and prominent political figures have long received warnings of attacks targeting their lives.
First deputy of the house Ahmad Behzad said: "if circles within government practically don't organise such attacks, I encouragingly could say the overall counterterrorism strategy of government against terrorism provides the ground for a broader activity of the Taliban and terrorist networks in all across Afghanistan."
The comments came as Afghan intelligence agency said Takhar incident was not a suicide kaboom, it was a kaboom.
Intelligence officials said an investigation into the incident indicates that the bomb was placed in corridor of Takhar governor palace and it was controlled by a remote.
In protest over the Takhar attack that led to the death of security bigshots, students in University of Kabul closed gate of the university.
Students warned they will continue to protest until those behind the Takhar attack are not incarcerated and brought to justice. They also urged President Karzai to step down and cancellation of High Peace Council.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera] Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... , the Afghan president, has warned that the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... forces fighting in his country risk becoming an "occupying force" if they do not stop air strikes on Afghan civilian homes as they hunt armed fighters.
On Tuesday, Karzai told news hounds in Kabul that "from this moment, air strikes on the houses of people are not allowed.
"The people of Afghanistan so far have endured casualties and have given sacrifices. So these operations should not be used against Afghan people and their houses. That's why bombing Afghan houses is banned."
The president's outspoken remarks came days after he issued a "last warning" to foreign forces over civilian casualties following Saturday's killingof 14 civilians, including women and kiddies in an air strike.
NATO apology
NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) later apologised over the incident in the restive southern province of Helmand.
"If after the Afghan government said the aerial bombing of Afghan houses is banned and if it continues, then their presence will change from a war against terrorism to an occupying force," Karzai added.
"And in that case, Afghan history is witness to how the Afghans deal with occupying forces," he said, making apparent reference to the historic defeats of foreign invasions, including that of the Soviet Union, which invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and withdrew 10 years later. No problem. We can leave now. You remember Najibullah, don't you?
It was the president's strongest statement against the air strikes, which NATO says are a necessary weapon in the war against the Taliban insurgency.
NATO says it never conducts such strikes without Afghan government co-ordination and approval. NATO officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Karzai's statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
AFGHAN HAMID, versus PAK HAMID ....
To wit,
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Video] GENERAL HAMID GUL: US WILL START WORLD WAR III IFF WAR IS EXPANDED INTO PAKISTAN [ME-style "Arab Spring" more appealing/interesting to ordinary Pakis than Al-Qaeda + Hard Boyz].
D *** NG IT, THERE ARE "HAMIDS" JUST EVERYWHERE TODAY!
#2
we need to publicly announce, then remove, all security measures protecting Karzai and his cronies. Let them die in Tali-attacks
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/01/2011 8:06 Comments ||
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#3
As far as I can tell, this bombing of Afghan homes is the same as most previous such 'atrocities' - our forces were returning fire. In fact, don't ROE stipulate that we cannot even return fire if we reasonably suspect civilian presence? You can't fight a war this way. Get the f*** out.
#4
Afghan history is witness to how the Afghans deal with occupying forces except for jihadis, whom Afghans will generally love and support to the death. Due to its very rough neighborhood, A-stan can't be contained easily.
#6
Karzai doesn't get it. We are an occupying force. We conquered that piss ant little country because the Taliban were harboring the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. The Afghan people are paying the price for that. Let other piss ant nations take notice. Civilians, Talibunnies-in-training, gun molls, human shields or whoever they were in those houses should have known what was gonna happen. They should have run like hell.
Karzai may call himself a president but that's only because we let him. He is really just a puppet and he damned well better learn who's pulling the strings. If he doesn't, I'm thinking NATO could bomb his little presidential palace and say our intelligence indicated the presence of Taliban in that structure.
#7
Karzai's brother controls much of the Heroin trade in the afghan-dog's-breakfast. Karzai's sovereignty rests in his shoes (never mind the islamo-hat and sudden-third-worlder costume).
#9
Win this thing? Sorry TW, the good General, whom I admire a great deal, is talking through his hat. What does win mean? I've never heard any definition. We are not going to change this society in any meaningful way. Hows about we say WE WON since we killed OBL. That way, we have a wonderful reason to leave this rat hole and the illiterates that inhabit it to their own devices.
[Al Jazeera] North and south Sudan have agreed to set up a demilitarised zone along their shared border, as the south moves closer to independence.
The announcement, made by the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... (AU) on Tuesday, comes 10 days after the north seized the disputed Abyei region, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee. Now that the Arab north has what it wants, a demilitarization of the border is just fine.
"The agreement ... establishes a Common Border Zone between North and South Sudan, which is to be demilitarised and jointly monitored and patrolled," an AU statement said, without adding further details.
Alex de Waal, an AU adviser who has facilitated negotiations on security issues between Sudan's north and south regions, said the parties agreed to the move on Monday during talks in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
The common demilitarised zone will stretch along the length of the 2,100-kilometre north-south border.
'Serious crisis'
Colonel Philip Aguer, a front man for the south's army, said the southern military will support the agreement "100 per cent" if both sides can agree on the actual border.
"To me that is a good agreement, but the issue now is where is the border," he said.
Princeton Lyman, the US special envoy to Sudan, said the agreement on a demilitarised zone was an important step, but noted it did little to resolve the Abyei dispute.
"It's an important step ... it provides for demilitarising the border and sharing the monitoring, but it doesn't deal with the current crisis that is going on in Abyei," he told Al Jizz.
Khartoum sent tanks and troops into Abyei on May 21, and has since defied calls from the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... , United States and south Sudanese officials to withdraw, saying the land belongs to the north.
Lyman called the situation in Abyei "one of the most serious crisis we've had in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement", referring to the 2005 peace deal that ended Sudan's civil war.
But southern officials have sought to downplay the tensions over Abyei, with Riek Machar, south Sudan's vice-president, saying on Monday that the two sides would form a committee to resolve the dispute.
Abyei 'deserted'
In Geneva, Adrian Edwards, a front man for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that a field visit to Abyei town had found the area "virtually emptied" of its estimated population of 50,000 to 55,000.
Sporadic shooting could be heard as late as Monday.
"Large numbers of fighters were present on the streets. Pilfering was openly going on, with people apparently organising batches of stolen belongings," Edwards said.
South Sudan is scheduled to declare independence in July, but the two sides have yet to settle issues such as the position of the common border and sharing oil proceeds.
The South faces a host of challenges as it heads toward secession, including internal rebel movements, a serious lack of infrastructure and widespread illiteracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Armoured riot police dispersed thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Casablanca and Sale on Sunday (May 29th), AP reported. According to MAP, the rallies organised by the youth-led February 20 Movement were unauthorised. Several injuries were reported by both demonstrators and the Moroccan security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Moammar Qadaffy's regime is "finished," Italia's foreign minister said Tuesday in the Libyan rebel stronghold after NATO warplanes struck Tripoli and African efforts for a ceasefire stalled.
"The Qadaffy regime is finished, he must leave office, he must leave the country," Franco Frattini told a joint news conference in Benghazi with Ali al-Essawi, the rebels' foreign affairs chief.
"His aides have left, he has no international support, the G8 leaders reject him, he must go."
Frattini was speaking ahead of a ceremony to inaugurate a new Italian consulate in the eastern city, in another major blow to Qadaffy after NATO insisted his "reign of terror" is nearing an end.
"We must continue our military pressure (and) strengthen our economic sanctions to ensure that the movement of the Libyan people is irreversible," he said.
Italia, the former colonial ruler of Libya and strategic economic partner with Moammar Qadaffy's regime, has joined international calls led by Perfidious Albion, La Belle France and the United States for the Libyan leader to go.
"In coming here, I have fully recognized the fact that the NTC truly represents the Libyan people," Frattini said, referring to the rebels' National Transitional Council.
"I underline our full support for the NTC ... which is why we are opening a consulate in Benghazi, having closed our embassy in Tripoli," he added.
NATO pounded Tripoli earlier on Tuesday, only hours after South African President Jacob Zuma left Libya's capital having failed to close the gap between Qadaffy and rebels fighting to oust him since February.
Libya's state-run Jamahiriya ... An Arabic neologism coined by Muammar al-Qadaffy. The word jamahiriya was derived from jumhuriya, which is the usual Arabic translation of republic. It was coined by changing the component jumhur ‐ public ‐ to its plural form, jamahir — the masses. Thus, it is similar to the term People's Republic, only more denigrating to the actual inhabitants of the country... TV cited a military source as saying "NATO colonialist crusaders" targeted military and civilian sites in Tripoli and Tajura, causing deaths and damage.
From the center of Tripoli, which NATO has been attacking for several weeks now, Agence La Belle France Presse reported warplanes flying overhead and distant kabooms around midnight (2200 GMT).
In its latest operational update, NATO said Tuesday it struck four military sites in the vicinity of Tripoli, including missile launchers, a vehicle storage facility and a radar.
Elsewhere it took out a command and control node and several tanks, truck-mounted guns and other military vehicles in and around Misrata, the main rebel-held city in western Libya.
Zuma said raids by NATO, which is enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya and protecting civilians from a government crackdown under a U.N. mandate, were undermining African mediation efforts.
South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane called for an immediate ceasefire after Zuma said Qadaffy was "ready" to implement an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... peace plan already rejected by NATO and the rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Germany has dismissed its ambassador to Libya after he made a private visit to the troubled state's capital of Tripoli without notifying his superiors.
German authorities said Matthias Meyer's visit to Tripoli in the wake of the popular uprising against Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy violated regulations of the German foreign ministry, German daily Bild am Sonntag reported.
The German envoy reportedly returned to Tripoli in order to pick up his private possessions from his residence but did not inform his superiors at the foreign ministry.
In wake of the political unrest that started in the North African state in March, Germany shut down its Tripoli embassy and withdrew its diplomats from the country. The website of the German embassy in Libya, however, said the closure was temporary.
Earlier last week, Germany pulled out of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... operations in the Mediterranean due to disagreements over the forces' mission in Libya.
A ministry front man said two frigates and two other ships with a crew of 550 would be reverted to German command.
Some 60 to 70 German troops participating in NATO-operated AWACS surveillance operations in the Mediterranean would also be withdrawn, according to the ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Muammar Qadaffy is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in his country, Jacob Zuma, the South African president, has said.
Zuma, who met the Libyan leader at Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location during a visit to Libya on Monday, also listed conditions set out by the embattled leader that have scuppered previous ceasefire attempts.
He said Qadaffy was willing to accept an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... (AU) initiative for a ceasefire that would stop all hostilities, including NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... air strikes in support of rebel forces.
But Zuma said Qadaffy insisted that "all Libyans be given a chance to talk among themselves" to determine the country's future. The rebels, however, quickly rejected the offer.
Zuma did not say whether Qadaffy was ready to step down, a key demand of the rebels.
In April, Zuma led a delegation of the African Union to Libya with an AU proposal for a truce. Qadaffy said he would accept the truce, but quickly ignored it and resumed his attacks.
In the rebels' de facto capital of Benghazi, Fathi Baja, the rebel foreign minister, rejected the African Union plan.
"We refuse completely; we don't consider it a political initiative, it is only some stuff that Qadaffy wants to announce to stay in power," he told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
'Nothing new'
Idris Traina, a member of the Libyan opposition based in Los Angeles, told Al Jizz that there was nothing new in this visit.
"Initially the reports we heard were that president Zuma was there to negotiate an exit strategy for Qadaffy and his family," he said.
"Later we heard repeated talk about the truce, but the Transitional National Council and the Libyan people have rejected these [truce offers] before and are rejecting them now."
Al Jizz's Cal Perry reports on president Zuma's visit to the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Zuma's visit to Libya came amid reports of mass defections from Qadaffy's army.
Eight senior military officers held a presser in Italia on Monday, saying they were part of a group of as many as 120 military officials and soldiers who defected from Qadaffy's side in recent days.
The hastily called news conference was organised by the Italian government for the eight officers - five generals, two colonels and a major.
"What is happening to our people has frightened us," said one officer, who identified himself as General Oun Ali Oun.
"There is a lot of killing, genocide ... violence against women. No wise, rational person with the minimum of dignity can do what we saw with our eyes and what he asked us to do."
Another officer, General Salah Giuma Yahmed, said Qadaffy's army was weakening day by day, with the force reduced to 20 per cent of its original capacity.
"Qadaffy's days are numbered," Yahmed said.
Abdurrahman Shalgam, the Libyan UN ambassador, who has also defected from Qadaffy, said all 120 military personnel were outside Libya now, but he did not say where they were.
NATO bombardment
In a statement on the eve of Zuma's visit, his ruling African National Congress in South Africa condemned the NATO bombing of Libya.
"We also join the continent and all peace loving people of the world in condemning the continuing aerial bombardments of Libya by Western forces," it said after a two-day meeting of its executive council.
The development came as Navi Pillay, the UN rights chief, condemned the brutality of the Libyan government's crackdown on protesters, saying the actions were shocking in their disregard for human rights. ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
"The brutality and magnitude of measures taken by the governments in Libya and now Syria have been particularly shocking in their outright disregard for basic human rights," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Authorities have released 22 detainees who underwent the rehabilitation programs at the Muhammad bin Naif Center for Rehabilitation, a statement of the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.
"A group of 22 detainees was released after completing their rehabilitation programs lasting four months and after showing signs of being reformed," the statement said.
Three of them have enrolled in universities to continue their higher education.
The number of Saudi gun-hung tough guys weaned away from deviant ideologies to the mainstream through the rehabilitation program reached 343 including those who returned from the Guantanamo Bay prison.
The center also enrolled another group of 100 detainees to the program, the statement added.
The programs aim to bring the gun-hung tough guys reform psychologically and socially and bring them back to the mainstream.
On their arrival at the center, the detainees are allowed to meet with their relatives.
Experts of the center conduct dialogues to wean them away from impact of deviant ideologies through various methods including narration of the history of the origin and growth of the deviant ideology and the wickedness caused by it.
According to an official report, the Kingdom spent more than SR400 million on terror-related detainees and their families in recent years. The rehabilitation program has been effective in changing the outlook of the inmates and making them realize their mistakes. While 90 percent of the detainees benefited from the program, about 10 percent returned to their old ways.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I estimate about eight of them will rejoin the jihad within a year. What say you all?
#2
The Jihad will collapse when it runs out of Western / infidel oil revenues, and not until then. That event is not likely to be televised or publicized.
[Yemen Post] At least 12 protesters were killed and dozens others injured when the army fiercely attacked hundreds of thousands of people who gathered early today in Wadi Al-Qadhi in Taiz to reoccupy the freedom square.
In the last two days, the army attacked the square, where more than a half million people have been conducting a month-sit-in to call for the ouster of Saleh, burning tents and shooting protesters. Dozens were killed and thousands injured.
"The police mercilessly fired at the unarmed and peaceful protesters as they regrouped to come back to the square. At least 12 have been killed and tens injured," said Abdul Aziz Othman, a journalist who was among the protesters.
"Bullets were fired at the people from machine guns and from armoured cars which are now blanketing all streets and preventing people from entering Taiz," he added.
After the fierce attacks, the protesters separated and groups sheltered to various places.
On Monday and Sunday, the forces stepped up crackdown on the protesters and while trying to break into the square they burned tents leaving many die inside them.
Pro-regime gangs also supported the forces snipping protesters from the roofs of some buildings.
The intensified crackdown coincided with resumed battles between the tribal fighters loyal to Sadeq Al-Ahmer, sheikh of the most powerful tribal coalition in the country, Hashid, and continuous battles against the gunnies who have consolidated their control over cities in Abyan province.
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06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] A tenuous truce declared a few days ago to end street fighting in the Yemeni capital between tribal groups and forces loyal to president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... has broken down, sending the country closer to the brink of civil war.
"The ceasefire agreement has ended," a government official said on Tuesday without giving further details.
The announcement came as overnight festivities in Sanaa killed many people and left dozens injured.
Sources told Al Jizz that the heaviest shelling took place near the interior ministry building and the house of Sadiq al-Ahmar, a powerful tribal leader ranged against President-for-Life Saleh. ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... They said forces loyal to Saleh, under pressure from protesters to quit and end his 33-year rule, fired tens of shells and missiles from a mountain near the house of al-Ahmar.
A journalist from Sanaa told Al Jizz the fighting was the fiercest the capital had seen in a long time.
"People are leaving, several homes were burned and tribal forces took over some government buildings and cop shoppes," the journalist said.
Protesters 'rubbed out'
Meanwhile, ...back at the sea battle, the Terror of the Baltic's career had come to an abrupt and watery end... security forces reportedly rubbed out at least two anti-government protesters in Yemen's second-largest city of Taiz on Tuesday, witnesses said.
They said that security forces were attempting to prevent anyone from gathering in the city, firing on those who tried to do so.
Medics confirmed that at least two people had been killed.
Tuesday's deaths came after protesters said security forces smashed a four-month-long sit-in in Taiz on Monday, killing 21 protesters.
According to reports received by the UN, more than 50 protesters have been killed in Taiz since Sunday.
"The UN human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... office has received reports, which remain to be fully verified, that more than 50 people have been killed since Sunday in Taiz by Yemeni Army, Elite Republican Guards and other government-affiliated elements," UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said.
The latest violence follows the death of at least 30 people, reportedly killed by air strikes in the southern city of Zinjibar, which is said to be controlled by fighters linked to al-Qaeda.
The air attack on Monday appeared to be in response to Sunday's takeover of the city by 300 alleged al-Qaeda gunnies and an overnight ambush that killed at least six Yemeni soldiers and injured dozens more who were travelling to the southern city.
"Civilians found a military car and an armoured vehicle. They were destroyed, and the bodies of six soldiers were found on the roadside," Ayman Mohamed Nasser, editor-in-chief of Attariq, Aden's main opposition paper, told the Rooters news agency by telephone.
Opposition leaders have accused Saleh of deliberately allowing Zinjibar, near a sea lane where about 3 million barrels of oil pass daily, to fall to al-Qaeda in a bid to show how chaotic Yemen would be without him.
Global powers have also been pressing Saleh to sign a deal brokered by Arab Gulf states under their umbrella organisation, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), to hand over power.
Under the deal, Saleh was to hand over power in 30 days and be granted immunity from prosecution. The opposition signed the deal but Saleh refused to sign it.
Fears over al-Qaeda
The deal was aimed at stemming the growing chaos in Yemen, home to al-Qaeda gunnies and neighbour to the world's biggest oil exporter, Soddy Arabia.
The United States and Soddy Arabia, both targets of attacks by Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, are worried that chaos is emboldening the group.
Saleh has been losing support as protests continued.
A breakaway military group called for other army units to join them in the fight to bring Saleh down.
Under Saleh, Yemen has moved to the brink of financial collapse, with about 40 percent of the population living on less than $2 a day and a third facing chronic hunger.
At least 320 people have been killed in fighting in Yemen since protests calling for Saleh to end his rule started about four months ago, inspired by the popular uprisings that ended the reign of the long-standing rulers of Tunisia and Egypt.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The Argentinians wanted to carry out an Interpol arrest warrant against Vahidi for a little old terrorist bombing on their territory in 1994. Bolivia is trying to avoid a diplomatic incident.
For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon, click here. For a map of Monterrey, click here .
One unidentified Monterrey police officer was killed and three others were wounded in a grenade attack on a police station in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Tuesday night, according to Mexican news reports.
The attack took place at around 1930 hours near the intersection of calles Francisco Beltran and Churubusco where armed suspects attacked the officers using a grenade and small arms fire.
An undisclosed number of police units were damaged in the attack as well.
Monterrey metropolitan police forces have suffered a number of attacks last month including three separate ambushes which took the lives of eight police officers in the Monterrey suburb of Guadalupe ten days ago. To read the Rantburg report of the three ambushes in Guadalupe, click here ( sixth, seventh and eighth item).
In a related incident, an Apodaca, Nuevo Leon municipal police captain was wounded along with his bodyguard in an ambush Tuesday night in Apodaca.
Captain Eulalio Lopez Cosme and his unidentified bodyguard were on patrol near the intersection of avenidas Chopo and the Mezquital-Santa Rosa highway when armed suspects riding aboard several vehicles travelling in convoy fired on the police.
Lopez Cosme managed to return fire before being being hit in the abdomen.
Lopez Cosme is the deputy chief of police of Apodaca and Transit Police chief.
For a map, click here. For a map of Durango, click here See see the last Rantburg report on the Durango mass murders click here
The death toll in Durango, Durango rose to 224 as three more bodies were exhumed from two gravesites, according to Mexican news sources.
The death toll in the mass graves of Durango already surpasses the death toll in San Fernando municipality in Tamaulipas of 183, at one time the worst mass murder in modern Mexican history.
Reports say the Durango state attorney general's office (FGE) resumed excavation at the sixth site on calle Valentin Trujillo in the Valle del Guadiana colony over the weekend pulling two bodies from the site Sunday.
The previous week, another body was exhumed from the seventh site in Jardines de Durango colony near the Zona Centro of Durango city.
Mexican and Durango state officials have yet to clarify differences between the mass graves in San Fernando, the count of which had been accrued over nine months; whereas the death toll in Durango city reaches back as far as four years, and is likely to be from normal organized crime activity such as kidnapping and extortion.
The San Fernando murders from all accounts appear to be a campaign of terror perpetrated by a local Los Zetas commander, as well as an impressment campaign for replacement shooters.
In related news, four unidentified men were found strangled to death in two separate locations in Durango state.
In Durango city in the Justicia Social colony on the Durango-Mezquital highway, two men were found dead in front of a soft drink bottler. Both appeared to have been strangled.
In an arroyo in the village of Francisco Murguia in the Nombre de Dios municipality, two men were found strangled to death.
[Al Jazeera] Russia has tossed in the calaboose Rustam Makhmudov, the suspected assassin of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was rubbed out in 2006, federal Sherlocks said.
Makhmudov was jugged on Monday night in Chechnya at the home of his parents after being on the run for years, Russia's federal investigative committee announced on Tuesday.
Makhmudov's brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim, and former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov have been investigated for several years over suspected involvement in the killing.
All three were acquitted on a lack of evidence in a jury trial in 2009, but the verdict was annulled by the supreme court and a new investigation reopened with the same suspects.
Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two who published damning exposes of official corruption and rights abuses, was rubbed out in the stairwell of her Moscow apartment on October 7 2006.
Reporting on abuses
Renowned for her opposition to the Chechen conflict, Politkovskaya also reported on the alleged human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... abuses of Russian military forces under the leadership of former Russian president Vladimir Putin ...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile... . She also covered alleged abuses by Chechen rebels and the current Moscow-backed administration led by the Kadyrov family in Chechnya.
Her death came as her reporting was increasingly being seen as a threat to the Chechen government, which has been accused of the rampant torture, abduction and murder of opposition figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, of Bowling Green, KY, are accused of conspiring to send Stinger missiles, cash, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers from the United States to al Qaeda and other jihadists in Iraq. They were snagged in an elaborate sting orchestrated by the FBI. Both were admitted to the USA on the basis of refugee status. Hammadi entered the US in July 2009.
Alwan is also charged with conspiring to kill US troops in Iraq by using IED's. Alwan's fingerprints were found on an unexploded IED in Iraq. Alwan demonstrated workable knowledge of IED construction to a secret FBI informant.
US attorney David Hale said the charges were not against any "particular religious community or religion."
#1
US attorney David Hale said the charges were not against any "particular religious community or religion."
So true. The charges are against those who would employ violence to achieve their purpose. Let them join those attempting the soft jihad of lawfare*, having accepted that the hard jihad of the sword is no longer permitted.
* Later let them discover that lawfare also will not bring them the caliphate in America** but one step at a time.
**I have faith that in the end they will not win, although it may be uncomfortable for all involved for a bit in the meantime.
#2
Anguper Hupomosing9418 forgot to mention that he gave us the standard eight-sentence fair use exerpt from a much longer article full of all sorts of interesting details. Do go read the whole thing. Ay Pee adds:
FBI Director Robert Mueller said in February that his agency was taking a fresh look at Iraqi nationals in the U.S. who had ties to al Qaeda's offshoot in Iraq. The group had not previously been considered a threat in the U.S..
If we (meaning Zero and his cronies) are stupid enough to have such a network attached in any way, shape, or form to the Internet, then we (meaning Zero and his cronies) are too stupid to live. The same goes for any critical infrastructure and/or its components.
#3
Hmm. Not seeing a real threat here, since most hacking seems to be our Han and/or Russian friends. Doubt we'd blow up Blue Army Headquarters even if we did prove they were behind the hack.
#5
Iff "OW" = ORACLE WORLD, thus far would be more akin to USDOD self-suicide than a foreign act of war, given how long long l-o-n-g ago Oracle was supposed to be emplaced.
[Al Jazeera] Pak warplanes have attacked Taliban positions in the northwestern Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... , killing 16 fighters, a senior regional government official has said.
Tuesday's strike came a day after a local newspaper reported that Pakistain would launch an offensive in North Wazoo, a known sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters on the Afghan border.
Orakzai is one of the tribal regions along the Afghan border where the Mighty Pak Army has tried to root out gangs with offensives against their strongholds.
"We had information that faceless myrmidons gathered there and were planning attacks so we launched the attack," Zaman Khan, a senior government official, told Rooters in Kalaya, the main town of Orakzai.
He said six fighters were also maimed in the strike.
Pakistain's performance in fighting gangs has come under scrutiny after it was discovered that al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden ... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up... had been living in the country.
Army operations have failed to break the back of gangs such as the Pak Taliban, who have stepped up suicide kabooms since US special forces killed bin Laden near Islamabad on May 2.
After the bin Laden raid, the United States told Pakistain it needed to step up the fight against gangs.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A Pak journalist has been found dead near the capital Islamabad after writing about links between the Pak military and al Qaeda, officials said Tuesday.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, 40, worked for an Italian news agency and an online news site registered in Hong Kong. He went missing on Sunday after he left his home in the capital to take part in a television talk show, but never arrived.
Officials said his body was identified by relatives after being found near his car in Sarai Alamgir, 150 kilometres (93 miles) southeast of Islamabad.
"Relatives visited the cop shoppe and now they have identified the dead body. They said it is the body of journalist Saleem Shahzad," police official Zulfiqar Ali told AFP by telephone.
He disappeared two days after writing an investigative report in Asia Times Online that al Qaeda carried out last week's attack on a naval air base to avenge the arrest of naval officials tossed in the slammer on suspicion of al Qaeda links.
Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said Shahzad had complained about being threatened by Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
"The other day he visited our office and informed us that ISI had threatened him. He told us that if anything happened to him, we should inform the media about the situation and threats," Hasan told AFP.
"We can form an opinion after the investigation and a court verdict, but... in the past the ISI has been involved in similar incidents."
The naval base attack on May 22 took 17 hours to repel. Officials said six Islamic fascistidestroyed two US-made surveillance aircraft and killed 10 security personnel in the standoff.
The country's umbrella Taliban faction grabbed credit, saying the attack was carried out to avenge the US killing of the late Osama bin Laden ... who went titzup one dark and stormy night... in Pakistain, which reopened questions about complicity with Al-Qaeda within the military.
Pak Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... ordered an inquiry into the kidnapping and murder, pledging that the culprits would be "brought to book".
Shahzad's Italian employer Adnkronos (AKI) confirmed the death and earlier said it feared he had been kidnapped. He was also Pakistain bureau chief for Asia Times Online.
In 2006, he was kidnapped by the Taliban in Helmand in southern Afghanistan. Then, his kidnappers accused him of being a spy but set him free after seven days.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistain had earlier Monday expressed alarm about Shahzad's disappearance and described as "exceedingly disturbing" reports that he might have been kidnapped by a state agency.
Hamza Ameer, a brother-in-law of Shahzad, told AFP that his car and identification papers had also been found.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#4
ISI scripted Mumbai attack, Qaida cleared it: Shahzad book The 26/11 terror attacks that killed 166 people and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war was scripted by ISI officers and approved before its execution by al-Qaida commanders, according to a book just written by slain Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad.
The 40-year-old reporter in his book titled `Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taleban -- beyond bin Laden and 9/11' describes the Mumbai plan as one pushed through by Ilyas Kashmiri, a key al-Qaida ally with wide links with the Pakistan defence establishment. Shahzad, who was an authority on terrorism in Afghanistan and the neighbourhood, says in the book that the plan was authored by the Inter-Services Intelligence officers and embraced and executed by Lashkar-e-Taiba.
"With Ilyas Kashmiri's immense expertise on Indian operations, he stunned the al-Qaeda leaders with the suggestion that expanding the war theatre was the only way to overcome the present impasse. He presented the suggestion of conducting such a massive operation in India as would bring India and Pakistan to war and with that all proposed operations against Al-Qaeda would be brought to a grinding halt. Al-Qaeda excitedly approved the attack-India proposal," Shahzad wrote in the book, excerpts of which were published in Karachi's The Dawn newspaper on Wednesday.
(Ma'an) -- Three men were killed Tuesday in an kaboom at a resistance training ground in the southern Gazoo Strip.
Popular Resistance Committees front man Abu Mujahid told Ma'an that three men affiliated with the group were killed in a blast at the Abu Ataya training ground in Tel Sultan, west of Rafah.
It was not immediately clear what caused the kaboom but the Israeli military said it was not responsible.
There's a lovely photo at the link of a uniformed terror trainee running with his gun past a small fire/kaboom. They apparently even practice with their heads wrapped to prevent identification -- it's a wonder they don't all end up in the fire, given how they've limited their field of vision.
The Jerusalem Post adds:
Three Paleostinians were killed Tuesday during an kaboom which occurred at training camp in Rafah belonging to the Paleostinian Popular Resistance Committees, Paleostinian sources reported.
Another Paleostinian was injured during the kaboom and was taken to hospital for further treatment.
[Ma'an] Three men were killed Tuesday in an kaboom at a resistance training ground in the southern Gazoo Strip.
Popular Resistance Committees front man Abu Mujahid told Ma'an that three men affiliated with the group were killed in a blast at the Abu Ataya training ground in Tel Sultan, west of Rafah.
It was not immediately clear what caused the kaboom but the Israeli military said it was not responsible.
Abu Mujahid identified those killed as Younis Abu An-Naja, Ramzi Abu Harb, and Mahmoud Al-Arqan.
He said a fourth man sustained wounds and was taken to the Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.
On Friday, two fighters affiliated with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, were killed in an kaboom in Khan Younis in the southern Gazoo Strip.
On Oct. 20, 13 Paleostinians civilians were maimed by an kaboom of undetermined origin in a Hamas security services building in Tel Sultan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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An assistant district chief and a local defense volunteer died this morning in a bomb trap designed to kill government officials responding to an earlier incident, and six people overall were injured in a total of three bombings in Yala province today.
The first bomb exploded at 3:30 a.m., injuring Rangsi Supassorn in a rubber plantation in Kabang district. The worker's leg was blown off.
When officials responded to investigate the incident, a roadside bomb exploded two kilometers from the first bomb site, killing two of the responders.
Assistant Kabang District Officer Usman Hormasaae and defense volunteer Usman Jaeni were killed and four other defense volunteers were injured.
Later, officials from a special unit inspected the roadside bombing location and discovered wires leading into a rubber plantation where a villager alerted them to a suspicious object. Sgt-Maj Niyom Pannarin stepped on a booby trap and was injured.
The area was cordoned off and a bomb disposal squad sent to inspect the site thoroughly to clear the area of any more hidden bombs.
[Straits Times] THE Philippine army says five soldiers have been maimed in separate kabooms by suspected Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... gunnies they were hunting in the south.
An army front man said a homemade bomb sprayed shrapnel that hit three Scout Rangers in a village on Basilan island's Sumisip town Monday.
Two Scout Rangers from a separate army unit were maimed in a second kaboom in a forested mountain in Sumisip later on Monday.
On Tuesday, he said the special army forces were attacked as they pursued Abu Sayyaf gunnies responsible for recent kidnappings.
The front man says the military is also trying to secure a major Basilan road project from the Abu Sayyaf.
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06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Beirut Daily Star: Region] A Syrian ship with 25 sailors on board hijacked by pirates in January was released from kidnapper control, the European Union's naval mission said Tuesday.
"On the morning of 26 May, the Khaled Muhieddine which was pirated on 20 January 2011 was released from pirate control after 126 days," it said in a statement.
"The crew of 22 Syrians and three Egyptians are all well," it added. The naval mission did not say if a ransom was paid for the 24,000-tonne bulk carrier.
The ship was seized in the north Arabian Sea on its way from Singapore to Hudaydah, Yemen.
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06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Beirut Daily Star] A bigwig in Syria's ruling Baath party said on Tuesday that a committee for national dialogue in the troubled country would be set up within 48 hours, the daily Al-Watan reported.
The newspaper, which is close to the government, quoted party number two Mohammed Said Bkhetan as telling a Baath party meeting that the committee's members would be wide-ranging.
"The committee for dialogue is composed of all political currents, and people from political and economic life and society in general will take part," it quoted him as saying.
"The mechanisms of the dialogue will be announced within 48 hours," he said.
More than 1,100 civilians have been killed and at least 10,000 tossed in the slammer since protests against President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... 's autocratic government erupted in mid-March, human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... organisations say.
Bkhetan said the number of people protesting in Syria was no more than 100,000, out of an overall population of around 22 million.
"It's the same people demonstrating every time. They protest at night, shouting 'holy shit! Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) as well as every Friday, but we must bring a swift end to this as we are under enormous pressure," he added.
The government insists the unrest is the work of "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign agitators.
It initially responded to the revolt by offering some concessions, including lifting the state of emergency in place for nearly five decades, but coupled this with a fierce crackdown.
Al-Watan reported that Bkhetan also ruled out abrogating Clause 8 of Syria's constitution, which states that the Baath party is the sole leader of the state and society.
"Any constitutional amendment is the competence of the council of the people" or parliament, in which the Baath party has more than half the number of deputies, he said.
"We have told the opposition that they can abolish this clause if they gain power and we become the opposition," he said.
The third parliamentary election since Assad succeeded his father Hafez in July 2000 is due soon in Syria.
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06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Paleostinians will march on Israel's borders from neighboring Arab states on Sunday to mark the 1967 Six Day War, a top Fatah commander said, calling on the United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least... to protect the protesters.
"We, who hope to return to our lands in Paleostine, are planning a peaceful rally this Sunday" at the Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian borders with Israel as well as the Gazoo Strip, Fatah commander in Leb Munir Maqdah told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Maqdah urged Arab states and the United Nations Interim Force in Leb (UNIFIL) to "ensure the protection of this peaceful gathering."
He said a committee joining Paleostinian and Lebanese factions as well as civil society groups would issue a statement in the coming days detailing the plans for Sunday's protests, which could include setting up tents at Israel's borders.
The 1967 Six Day War saw Israel defeat four Arab armies in six days, and saw it take over east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gazoo Strip.
It also saw the Jewish state seize the Golan Heights plateau from Syria, and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
The announcement comes after Paleostinians marched on Israel's borders with Leb, Syria and Gazoo on May 15 in a mass show of mourning over the 1948 creation of the Jewish state.
Six people were killed and more than 100 others maimed that day when a crowd of thousands of refugees came under fire from Israeli troops near the Lebanese border town of Maroun al-Ras.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
AL-FATAH + "MARCH OF PEACE"
versus
* MEMRI.ORG > HAMAS FOREIGN LIASON OSAMA HAMDAN: ARMED CONFRONTATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE "BACKBONE OF THE RESISTANCE" [until the final liberation of Palestine]; THE ISRAELIS MUST RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN.
versus
* WAFF > ATHENS MAYOR: ATHENS WILL BE LIKE [1970's] BERUIT, iff the rule if law continues to be increasingly challenged + denigrated due to popular backlash oer Greece's severe economic problems = threat of default???
Place a couple of fire engines at each location the "march" is expected (I'm sure they can find that out). Set up a drafting tank for each (why mess up the on-board tank?) with liquified lard (mix it with something harmless to keep it liquid). Spray any "marchers" before they get to the border.
Don't rinse; repeat as needed.
Of course, it would be a lot easier (and probably cheaper) just to lob vomit gas into the "marching" crowd while they're still well outside of the Israeli border. Mix in a little tear gas for cover.
Also, I'd suggest some permanent dye mixed in, too - maybe hot pink? Lavender? Putrid puce?
:-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2011 20:34 Comments ||
Top||
#4
It's time for Israelis to be let in on the secret of the Nude Bomb.
[Arab News] Syrian troops shelled a town in the center of the country Monday, and for the first time in the two-month-old revolt against the president, residents armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades put up fierce resistance, activists said. State media said four soldiers were killed.
Most of the opposition to autocratic President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... has taken the form of peaceful protests by unarmed demonstrators, though authorities have claimed throughout the uprising that it was being led by armed gangs and propelled by foreign conspiracies.
Two activists in the area said residents of two towns under attack in central Homs province since Sunday had taken up arms against troops and members of the security forces and that there were new casualties, though they did not know how many.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria, which help organize and document the protests, said two bodies were found Monday morning in the area of Bab Amro cemetery, raising the corpse count from the two-day crackdown in the country's turbulent heartland to 11.
"The army is facing armed resistance and is not able to enter the two towns," said a Homs resident who has wide connections in the province. "The army is still outside the towns and I was told that army vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, were burnt." The other activist said the army "is being subjected to stiff resistance" by residents using automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades in the two towns, Tabliseh and Rastan. He said many people are armed in Syria and over the past years weapons have been smuggled into the country from Leb and Iraq.
Syria has barred foreign journalists from entering the country and prevented coverage of the revolt, making it nearly impossible to independently verify accounts coming out of the country.
Monday's accounts by the two activists, however, were the first credible reports of serious resistance by people who have taken up arms. It is not clear how widespread such resistance might be elsewhere in the country, but the government has claimed that more than 150 soldiers and coppers have been killed since the unrest began.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria said military forces hit Tabliseh with artillery early Monday and that snipers were deployed on roofs of mosques.
Syrian troops, backed by tanks, have been conducting operations in Tabliseh and the nearby town of Rastan Teir Maaleh since Sunday.
Syria's state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... said four soldiers were killed and 14 maimed in Tabliseh.
Assad's use of the military signals he is determined to crush the two-month-old revolt, despite US and European sanctions, including an EU assets freeze and a visa ban on Assad and nine members of his regime.
The uprising, which began in mid-March, is posing the most serious challenge to the Assad family's 40-year rule. What began as a disparate movement demanding reforms has erupted into a resilient uprising seeking Assad's ouster. Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed in the crackdown.
In Geneva, the UN's top human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... official said Monday the brutality and magnitude of repression in Syria and Libya against anti-government groups is "shocking." Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the crackdown in those countries is marked by an "outright disregard for basic human rights." He urged the Syrian government Monday to allow a UN fact-finding mission to visit the country. The team has been awaiting Syria's reply since requesting a visit on May 6.
Rights activist Mustafa Osso said troops have entered several towns in the restive Homs province and jugged hundreds of people since Sunday. He added that since Sunday night, Rastan and Tabliseh have been subjected to heavy machine gun fire.
Residents of the Homs towns have held anti-regime protests since the start of the uprising. Those protests have increased recently, with crowds taking to the streets day and night to call for the fall of Assad's regime, an activist said.
Osso said there were several demonstrations in different parts of Syria overnight, adding that there were no reports of security forces opening fire.
In recent days, many Assad opponents have been holding protests and candlelight vigils at times of the night when the security presence has thinned out.
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06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The Syrian military used heavy machine-guns and artillery in fresh attacks on a town in the country's turbulent heartland Tuesday, killing at least one person, activists said.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria, which helps organize and document the country's protests, said heavy gunfire could be heard in Rastan, which is a few kilometers north of the central city of Homs and has been under attack since Sunday.
They identified the latest person killed as Ibrahim Salmoun, who died Tuesday. His death raises to 16 the number of people killed in the three-day crackdown in Homs province, which has witnessed some of the largest anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks.
Syria is determined to crush the ten-week old revolt against the government, which it says is being led by Islamic cut-throats and armed gangs. State media said four soldiers and security forces were killed.
Mohammad Said Bkheitan, assistant secretary general of the Baath party, said the number of protesters across the country does not exceed 100,000. "They are the same people who demonstrate each time," he said in comments to Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... University party cadres that aired late Monday on Syrian TV.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands of others tossed in the calaboose in the crackdown, which has drawn condemnation and sanctions from the United States and European Union.
Bkheitan said mechanisms for a national dialogue would be announced within the next 48 hours and said a general amnesty is expected to be issued soon. He did not elaborate.
Details coming out of Syria are sketchy because the government has placed severe restrictions on the media and expelled foreign news hounds, making it nearly impossible to independently verify accounts coming out of the country.
Activists told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named Monday that Homs residents were using automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to repel advancing government troops, putting up a fierce fight for the first time in their two-month-old revolt against President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... 's autocratic regime.
The activists said the fighting involved individual residents protecting themselves, as opposed to an organized armed resistance with an overall command structure.
Monday's accounts were the first credible reports of serious resistance by residents taking up arms. Some reports have also surfaced of civilians fighting back in the town of Tal kalakh near the border with Leb.
The government and several rights group say more than 150 soldiers and coppers have been killed since the unrest began.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Syrian President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... issued a general amnesty on Tuesday, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said, after ten weeks of protests against his 11-year rule and a military crackdown which has drawn international condemnation.
The amnesty covers "all members of political movements, including the Moslem Brüderbund," it said. Membership of the Brotherhood, which led an armed uprising against Assad's father in 1982, is punishable by death in Syria.
Assad's move was the latest in a series of reforms -- including lifting a 48-year state of emergency and granting citizenship to stateless Kurds in eastern Syria -- aimed at addressing grievances of protesters.
But those steps have been accompanied by a ruthless military crackdown in which rights campaigners say 1,000 civilians have been killed and more than 10,000 people nabbed.
Activists said at least five people were killed on Tuesday when tanks shelled the central town of Rastan and security forces stormed Hirak, a town in the southern Hauran Plain where the uprising first broke out in mid-March.
Syria blames the violence on gangs, miltants and foreign agitators, saying more than 120 police and soldiers have been killed in the unrest nationwide.
The official SANA news agency said two soldiers were killed in an operation to arrest "armed terrorist groups" in Rastan. It quoted a military source saying army and security forces seized weapons and ammunition in Rastan and killed or injured "a number of armed terrorists."
The United States, which has called Assad's repression of protests "barbaric, and the European Union, have announced sanctions against the president and senior Syrian officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
For both the killers and those hundreds killed?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Qadaffy's regime is "finished," 
Qadaffy is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in his country, Jacob Zuma, the South African president, has said.
.
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...
Orakzai Agency
(Ma'an) -- Three men were killed Tuesday in an 
al-Assad
